15-Yr-Old Shocks 'Voice' Judges With Jaw-Dropping Performance

Jun 09, 2020 by apost team

The judges on The Voice might seem like they're a little picky, but they have to be. They're not just seeking people who have good singing skills.

They want ones with talents that stop them in their tracks. That's exactly what happened with this 15-year-old's performance on The Voice Australia in 2018.

In 2018, during the blind auditions for The Voice Australia, Josh Richards arrived with a performance of The Jackson Five's number-one hit, I'll Be There. 

The song, which came out in 1970, was the Jacksons fourth-consecutive chart-topper, as well as the highest-selling song by Motown Records up to that point. Written by four composers, including Motown founder Berry Gordy, I'll Be There is full of all the hallmarks that made the Jacksons one of the most sensational musical families even known.

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The song's release also marked the end of an era for The Jackson Five, as it was their final number-one hit. Michael Jackson's solo career was in its infancy. The group ended in 1989, seeing reformations in 2001 as well as 2012 and 2019, with every surviving member, as Michael had passed away in 2009.

Any notion that The Jackson Five and I'll Be There could only connect with people who had grown up in the 1970s was proven false by the amazing performance that Josh gave on "The Voice." Despite being born more than three decades after this song had come out, Josh was giving this performance his all.

Covering a song as legendary as this one is no small responsibility, and Josh clearly knew that he'd have to put his all into making the judges hit their buzzers. The first to do so was Boy George. He was soon followed by the rest of the panel. All four judges had evidently been blown away by this young talent and his vocal versatility.

Singing talent from someone so young isn't something that can be taken for granted either. While Josh didn't end up winning the show, he did very well for himself throughout the course of the season.

Josh surely has a bright future ahead of him as a musical talent. We hope that he always knows how many people he touched when he made his first appearance on the show.

What do you think of Josh's audition? Which Jackson Five song would you have gone with? Let us know in the comments and make sure you show this to anyone you know who loves watching young musical talent in action.